


We'll make it back, just be ready to catch us when we arrive.

by ILiveInDenial



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Hurt Toby Smith | Tubbo, Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), January 20 Stream, Manipulative Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Mind Manipulation, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rewritten from an idea I had, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, The suicidal thoughts and attempt are only mentioned, To Be Edited, TommyInnit Whump (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, but there's fluff at the end, it's tommy above the lava and tommy threatening to kill hisself to distract dream, lots of hurt and angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29149032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ILiveInDenial/pseuds/ILiveInDenial
Summary: Rewrite of the January 20th events. Tommy negotiates with Punz to wait at the nether hub for him and Tubbo's return. Tommy and Tubbo go to confront Dream, and they have several people waiting back at the nether hub for them, instead of coming for them. Dream spends longer taunting Tommy, and Tommy fights back, distracting Dream while sending Tubbo through the portal, then following. Dream chases them down, but they make it to the hub, so instead Dream attempts to manipulate Tommy into believing that Dream is his only friend againI suck at summaries but I promise the premise is really good. I also just published this without proofreading, so it's very stream of thought. I'll be editing it tomorrow, but I think it's alright despite writing this high af.
Relationships: Floris | Fundy & Niki | Nihachu, Ponk | DropsByPonk & Sam | Awesamdude, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 18
Kudos: 181





	1. Preparing to die isn't always writing a note

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic, it was 16 pages in Google Docs, and I'm honestly very proud of it. I also wrote half of it high so don't mind if the grammar or vocab get a bit wonky.

Tommy approached Punz, two days before he was supposed to meet Dream about the discs. He was hoping to persuade the warrior to help him and Tubbo against Dream, so they could possibly stand a chance.

“Punz!” Tommy yelled, “How are you big man?”

“What do you want Tommy?”

“I’ll be real with you, I need help. Dream sent me a compass and told me and Tubbo to meet him at the location it points to in two days. I am going into this knowing I may die, but I need your help, I need you to show up and fight with us, I need you to protect Tubbo.” Tommy said quickly, “Tubbo is everything to me and I’ll give you everything I have if it means you won't let Dream kill him.”

“Hmm, how much do you have?”

“What?”

“How many diamonds do you have to pay me with?”

“Uh, I don’t know, probably 47 or 48.”

“That’s not enough. I’m not travelling who knows how far to go against the most powerful man on the server for less than two stacks.” Punz stated firmly.

“Please, Big Man, I don’t have that much, and I don't have time to get that much, can I pay what I have now and the rest later?”

“No can do.”

Punz watched Tommy’s face fall and his eyes water. He thought, ‘It’ll take more than a few crocodile tears to get me to help,’ before watching with confusion as the normally expressive boy turned his head slightly to blink the tears away, before facing Ponk again, only the red around his eyes showing the tears threatening to fall. He wondered what he just witnessed, the Tommy he knows would have used his tears as a way to guilt trip him into doing his bidding, yet Tommy had tried to brush them away before Punz could notice. 

Punz was broken out of his thoughts by Tommy’s voice, slightly shakier than before, as Tommy asked, “What will you do for the diamonds I have, or anything I have, I’ll give you my armor, my stuff, emeralds, diamonds, anything you need?”

Punz was shaken at the quiet tone in the boy’s voice. This wasn’t the same kid that ran around threatening people and scamming for supplies. This was a genuinely scared kid. The kid isn’t even scared for himself, Punz notes, he’s only concerned for his friend.

Punz sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “I’m not going to go follow you on your suicide mission, but, what I can do for you, is wait in the nether, at the nether hub for you and Tubbo. If you really need my protection, get to the nether and get to the hub, I’ll protect you there. If you are in a bad situation, send Tubbo through and I’ll protect him with everything I’ve got.”

Punz watched as Tommy nearly slumped over from the amount of tension leaving his shoulders. 

Tommy quickly handed him the diamonds, saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Before running off and leaving Punz to wonder what he just agreed to.

\----------

Tommy’s next stop was in Mexican L’Manburg, where he needed to talk to Quackity.

He looked around the few buildings before spying him sat at a fountain, his duck wings spread out in the warm sun.

Tommy bounded up to him, his footsteps making Quackity turn to face him, before launching into a greeting, “‘Ello, Big Q! How are ya doing?”

Quackity gestured to the fountain next to him as he responded, “Acting like a duck and swimming!”

“That’s fantastic Big Q, and I really don’t want to ruin the mood but I really need to ask you a favor.”

“What is it, Big T?”

“Dream told me and Tubbo to meet him far away to negotiate the discs, but I have a bad feeling. I already have Punz willing to sit at the nether hub and wait for me and Tubbo, just incase Dream pursues us, but he can’t protect us alone. You’re an amazing archer an-”

Quackity cut him off, “You need me to just sit in the nether for a while and fight off Dream so he doesn’t kill you and Tubbo?” 

Tommy nodded quickly and Quackity said, “Alright, I can do that! You can count on me!”

“Thank you so much Big Q!” Tommy hollered as he jumped from Mexican L’Manburg into the lake below.

\------------

Tommy’s final stop for the day was Awesamdude’s home, far away from the main SMP.

He jumped through the nether portal into Sam’s area and quickly set off to find the redstone genius. After nearly half an hour of wandering, he heard muffled cursing from nearby, so he jogged that way.

He soon came upon Sam working on a contraption of some sort and cleared his throat to make his presence known. 

Sam still jumped, spinning to stare at Tommy. 

“Er, sorry for scaring you, Big Man.”

“It’s alright, what are you doing here, though? Not many people come out this far for no reason.”

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck, “I need help. I’m going up against Dream in two days and I’m scared. I have some reinforcements alread-”

“When and where do you need me?” Sam asked, a soft smile gracing his speckled face.

“What??”

“When and where? You’re a kid and if you’re scared, I’m going to at least try to help you.”

“O-oh, in the Dream SMP nether hub, not tomorrow morning but the next morning.”

“Alright, I’ll make sure to be there kid, and I might bring Ponk.” Sam said, pretending not to notice the tears that welled up in the boy’s eyes at the easy acceptance.

\-----------

Tubbo was having a much easier time recruiting, as he took it upon himself to ensure there were healers waiting to heal them from the fight with Dream.

He went directly to Niki’s shop, and opened the door. Cool air wafted out, carrying the scent of flowers and the sounds of Niki and Fundy’s voices from the back room. He stepped in and let the door fall shut behind him, which alerted the two to another’s presence in the shop.

Niki and Fundy emerged from the back and greeted Tubbo warmly.

Tubbo took a breath and began, “Dream has told Tommy and I to meet him far from the SMP to negotiate over the discs and Tommy is gathering reinforcements in case we have to fight, but we also need healers.”

Niki sat for a second, processing, before speaking, “Of course we’ll help Tubbo, where and when is everything happening?”

“Tommy has been messaging me, he says that all of his people have agreed to wait for us to return in the nether hub, and Dream is having us meet him two days from now, so two days from now, in the nether hub.”

“Alright, Tubbo, we should get started gathering and brewing to prepare for this.” Fundy said.

Tubbo thanked them both brightly and ran out of the shop to meet Tommy back at Snowchester.


	2. Travelling, Fighting, Fleeing, and Hurting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter they fight dream and also run a lot. There's a lot of time skips because I didn't want to write the whole travelling thing, just important bits. There's gore in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW TW TW Mild Gore, descriptions of a beheading

The fateful day dawned the same as any other day, despite how different the circumstances were. Tommy and Tubbo were up and ready to depart with the dawn, too anxious to sleep any longer.

They left Tommy’s house, having stayed there last night, and start walking west down the Prime Path, following the compass.

They passed many faces as they left, and hoped to a nonexistent god that they will make it back to see their friends without the sorrow painting everyone’s features.

Sooner than expected they are out of the SMP and in the wilderness. They trek on, joking lightly between themselves as they go until midday.

\-----------

At midday, they are in boats in the middle of the ocean, rowing steadily in the direction they had travelled all day, when Tommy took a look at the compass for the first time in a while.

“Oh shit. The compass changed directions, we need to head north.”

Tubbo leaned forward and hugged Tommy tight after hearing how his voice shook.

\------------

Less than an hour later, a massive mountain, matching the description Dream gave, appeared in their view.

\-------------

They are at the top of the mountain, the sun setting after a long, but pointless battle. Dream had laughed as he revealed that the disc the duo fought so hard for for hours was a decoy. He destroyed their supplies and lead the two desolate teens to the entrance to his secret base.

In his base, Dream waxed on about how _Tommy_ was the key to the server’s success, bringing attachments to an otherwise shitty server.

Dream showed them around the hall he made to store everything precious to the people on the server, bragging about how powerful he would be once he owned everything of value.

\----------

Tommy’s mind is swirling, Dream said that he would show them everything then kill Tubbo, saying that Tubbo is worthless, just a pawn. His mind centered on one thing though, that Dream needed Tommy alive in order to obtain power. His eye caught on the Axe of Peace hung on the wall, just a block from him. He pretended to stumble, catching himself on the handle of the axe and swiftly moving it into his inventory. He ran to catch up to Tubbo, putting himself between the madman and his best friend.

\-----------

“I’m not unnecessarily cruel, I’ll let you say goodbye to Tubbo before I kill him.” Dream stated.

Tommy immediately grabbed Tubbo’s hand, dragging him over to the gold platform to the left of the large portal, and hugged him tight.

“Tommy, it’s okay, I’ve had a good life, I-” Tubbo started before getting cut off.

Tommy buried his head into his friend’s shoulder, facing Tubbo’s ear, and whispered, “I nicked the Axe of Peace, it’s in my inventory. Dream won’t kill me if I fight. When I say so, you need to run through the portal and sprint to the SMP. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t stop for anything until you’re at the hub. I love you.”

Tommy detached himself from Tubbo then walked confidently to Dream. Tubbo, on the other hand, backed up until he reached the wal the portal is in, then started shuffling towards it while Tommy distracted Dream.

Tommy yelled, “Dream! fUCK YOU GREEN BITCH!!!!!!!!!!”

As soon as Tommy yelled that, Tubbo ran the last stretch to the portal and jumped through.

Tommy saw that Dream’s attention was on the portal, and with a glance, saw that Tubbo was already through.

Without Tubbo there, Tommy could really distract Dream.

“Hey, look at me when I’m talking to you, green bean!” Tommy yelled.

When Dream turned to look, Tommy took the axe out of his inventory and held the blade up to his throat. Seeing this, Dream froze.

“Tommy, what are you doing? Put the axe down, or I’ll drag Tubbo back in here and torture him until you do.”

“Dream, if you move toward that portal, I will slit my throat open, and you know I will.”

Dream froze again then chuckled lightly, “Seems like we are both at a checkmate.” He took a step forward.

Dream then ran toward Tommy with the intention of disarming him. The masked man made a mistake and underestimated his opponent. He lunged for Tommy, aiming to grab the hand the axe was in, but Tommy spun out of the way, holding the axe out in front of himself as he spun until a wet crunch sounded out.

Tommy stopped spinning and gagged at the sight on the ground. The axe hqad hit the unprotected base of his neck, just between his chestplate and helmet. Tommy’s momentum with the axe had not just severed the spine, but dug almost all the way through, with just an inch of flesh keeping Dream’s head from rolling away.

The body dissolved, leaving the man’s armor, which Tommy scooped up before sprinting to the portal.

\----------

Tommy ran as fast as he could, following the tracks Tubbo had left. After nearly twenty minutes, Tommy could hear footsteps ahead of him, so he called out, “Tubbo?”

“Tommy?”

And with that the boys crashed into each other. Tommy quickly shoved the leggings, boots, and helmet onto Tubbo before continuing to run.

\-----------

Dream had almost caught up, with the aid of a swiftness potion. Dream swung wildly toward the duo and hit flesh. Tubbo cried out as Dream’s sword cut into his upper arm.

Tommy pushed Tubbo ahead and turned to face Dream. This time, Tommy took the first move, charging Dream, axe held high, then dodging at the last moment. Dream fell, overbalancing and tumbling to the floor. Tommy swiftly sliced down the back of Dream’s leg to delay, if not stop the man from pursuing.

\-----------

Tommy and Tubbo were moving slower as they got hungrier and more exhausted, but they pepped up and started speeding up again as they caught sight of familiar structures. They had been hearing Dream catching up for a while now, and knew that once they were in the open, their lead would be quickly destroyed by Dream’s amazing parkouring skills.

Tommy pushed Tubbo ahead, telling him to get to the hub, and turned to face the rapidly approaching Dream. Tommy knew that the same trick wouldn’t work twice, but it was all he had, so he charged Dream.

Tommy got Dream on the ground and cut his leg back open, but as he turned to run after Tubbo, Dream raised his sword and cut into Tommy’s thigh. Tommy ignored the ripping pain, and caught up to Tubbo. Tubbo, after seeing Tommy’s leg, forced Tommy to take his jacket off and wrap the wound.

\----------

Ten minutes after that, the duo knew they were just two turns from the straight path all the way to the hub portal, but Dream was gaining again.

Tubbo turned around and placed netherrack that he had picked up from a ghast explosion, blocking the tunnel. They heard Dream scream in frustration as he had to shuffle through his mess of an inventory to find a pickaxe.

\------------

Five minutes later, the injured duo exited the tunnel into a wide open space, and directly ahead was the hub, several people stood waiting. Tommy dragged Tubbo across the pockmarked terrain to the beginning of the cobble bridge, pushing his friend ahead before turning to face the dishevelled, bloody, masked man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is all the manipulation, the suicide tw, and all the angst.


	3. We Are Prepared To Heal The Physical, Not The Emotional Or Mental

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is long and heavy. It's the recruit's PoV for the first bit, them getting ready to help Tommy and Tubbo, then it's Dream straight up gaslighting Tommy in front of everyone for almost 4 Google Doc pages. Then followed by physical healing, and a little of Tommy and Tubbo cuddling to soothe your poor aching souls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big suicide mention TW, Dream uses the time he pulled Tommy away from lava to gaslight Tommy.  
> Big ass gaslighting, manipulation, abuse mention. Nearly the entire chapter is Dream gaslighting Tommy.

After Tommy and Tubbo disappeared past the horizon of the Dream SMP, on their quest to finally retrieve the discs, the many people who had come to wish the teens luck sprung into action. Niki retrieved several healing potions from a chest that she had placed near the Prime Path earlier, Quackity grabbed several mismatched sets of armor from his Ender Chest and distributed the pieces amongst the L’manburg citizens, Punz, Ponk, and Sam equipped armor, and Fundy grabbed an armful of fire resistance pots. With hardly a word said to break the solemn atmosphere, the group set off to prepare the nether hub to receive the boys in any condition they may be in after battling Dream.

They knew that they had at least a few hours before the boys would return should they have no opposition, yet they all worked in a frenzy in order to prepare a first aid station to treat any wounds either Tommy, Tubbo, or the areas’ defenders got from what would probably be a furious Dream attacking the group.

Hours passed, with no messages pinging their communicators for a frighteningly long time. 

Several chimes rang out simultaneously from each of the groups communicators, [Dream was slain by TommyInnit using [Axe of Peace]]. Niki, Fundy, and Punz gasped, Quackity made a cut-off choking sound, and Sam gaped openly at the message. 

“Holy shit, how did he kill Dream?” Fundy gasped out

“He must have gotten a surprise hit, or caught him off guard.” Ponk replied, still reeling from seeing the first of Dream’s lives taken by TommyInnit of all people.

After that statement, conversation lapsed into an uneasy silence as all the people sat around the hub’s portal listened more intently for footsteps that would signal the boys return.

Nearly half an hour later, Niki and Fundy were silent as they restlessly shuffled through their myriad potions and bandages for the umpteenth time when they, and the rest of the group heard the unmistakable sounds of thumping footsteps echoing off of the netherrack to the hub’s west.

Sam, Ponk, and Punz jumped up from where they had been seated, whispering amongst themselves, and righted their armor, and got into battle ready positions.

In the distance, Tommy and Tubbo rounded the final corner before they had a straight shot to the hub, where they would hopefully be protected by the server’s adults. 

Niki examined the boys closely as they ran, scanning for injuries, and started pulling corks out of regen and healing potions for the wounds that she could already see from nearly a hundred blocks away. She noticed blood running down one of Tommy’s legs as he limp-ran at an excruciating looking sprint, pulling Tubbo along, who was clutching his upper left arm tightly with his blood soaked right hand. She was distracted from her analysis of their wounds as she saw the reason for the insanely swift sprint, the man following just blocks behind the bloody duo, his green hoodie splattered with dark spots of blood, his hand gripping so tightly around the handle of his sword, Nightmare, that they were visibly white from even this far, and most frighteningly of all on this terror-inducing man, a cruel, angry snarl twisting his mouth where it was visible from under his skewed mask. She shuddered as she saw that snarl, it sent a primal thrill down her spine when it wasn’t even directed at her. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Fundy fumble a potion as a tremor wracked his spine, his ears flattening and tail puffing up as he also saw the man, no, monster, chasing the children they were here to protect. Niki ripped her mind away from her fear and opened a bottle of antiseptic and started pouring it on some wadded up gauze in preparation for the injured duo, who were almost at the final cobblestone bridge before safety.

Tommy sprinted across the netherrack, pulling Tubbo along by the wrist. He could see a cobblestone path coming up, with Niki and Fundy kneeling with a variety of healing supplies waiting, the three professional combatants armed heavily and stood to either side of the narrow path between the sprinting duo and the healers, and finally, Quackity, crouched up above the hub with a bow and arrow at the ready to shoot dream once the man got close enough.

Tommy pulled on his friend’s arm, pushing Tubbo ahead of himself as he heard Dream’s footsteps get closer. With a final shove on Tubbo’s back as the duo reached the cobblestone path above the lava lake, Tommy stopped running and turned to face Dream.

Dream came to a stop just blocks away from Tommy, mask still skewed on his face, and panting from the sprint through the sweltering nether. “There’s nowhere you can hide him from me, Tommy, you can never escape me. This is my server.” The masked man snarled as he adjusted his mask. “Just give up. You’re armorless, alone, with your back to lava. You won't make it out of here Tommy.”

As Dream spoke, Tubbo finally stumbled across the threshold to the hub, nearly collapsing into Niki. “Please, help Tommy, please, please, please, don’t let him hurt Tommy.” He sobbed into Fundy as the fox held him up to pour a regen and a fire resistance potion down the boy’s throat.

At this, Sam, Ponk, and Punz stepped onto the narrow bridge, approaching the standoff between the most powerful man on the server, and a boy who they were just now truly realizing was just that, a boy.

Tommy and Dream stood facing each other, seemingly unaware of anyone outside their nonverbal confrontation.

“C’mon Tommy, if you would just behave and come with me, I might choose to not kill Tubbo.” Dream spoke, the threat ringing through Tommy’s ears and echoing across the bridge to where everyone who cared about these boys waited for Tommy to run to them.

Dream spoke in a tone that would have been soft and almost _kind_ had it not been for the forceful and booming way he said the sentence, saying it as a command, not an option.

Unaware that the people behind him could hear every word he and Dream spoke, Tommy retorted in a voice nearly as disingenuously soft as Dream’s, “We both know that’s a damn lie Dream. At least respect me enough to not lie to me if you’re claiming li’l ol’ me as your greatest opposition in the entire server.”

“Alright Tommy, if that’s how you want it. Come with me now, or I will not kill Tubbo, I will hold him prisoner and torture him in front of you every day until you and him beg me to let him die, and then continue to keep him just barely alive just so I can see that light in your infuriating eyes die, bit by bit, as you are forced to listen to him scream, and cry, and beg for mercy where ther will be none.” Dream took a low breath before continuing with, “But, Tommy, if you come with me quietly and willingly, if you give yourself up to me, I will spare him and kill him swiftly.”

Nobody dared breathe while Dream threatened to torture Tubbo to insanity in front of all of them in a strikingly calm voice other than Tommy, who had been curling in upon himself the whole time the masked man spoke, and gasping between sobs as he listened to this monster in a man’s body describe how he would torture the person who meant _everything_ to him should he refuse to comply.

“Please, Dream, just let him go, I’ll go with you, I’ll obey everything you say, I won't even try to kill myself, I won’t even think of trying to escape, I’ll let you have me, I’ll give you the discs, I’ll give you anything, I’ll do anything, I’ll do anything, please, just spare Tubbo, please, Dream, don’t kill him I’ll be good, I promise I’ll be good.” Tommy gasped out between sobs, gasping in breaths as his voice got higher and more frantic as he continued to beg Dream to spare Tubbo.

Tommy fell to his knees gasping after that, struggling to breathe in as he panicked. In his panic, he didn’t register Dream stepping closer before crouching in front of the young boy’s gasping form until Dream gently grabbed his face.

“Tommy, believe me, the last thing I want to do is hurt anyone on this server, I care so much about all of you,” Dream spoke softly, tilting Tommy’s face up to make eye contact with the blank mask, “But this is what needs to happen because you disobeyed me. I gave you rules to follow when you were exiled, you were free to be outside and have visitors, throw parties, mine and gather items, you had so much freedom in exile, all you had to do was follow a few simple rules Tommy.”

Dream took a deep breath, aware of all the eyes on him, but confident none would interfere with his sword so close to Tommy’s unprotected stomach, breathing out and in again before continuing. “But you couldn’t even do that, you hid stuff from me, planning to hurt me despite how kind I was to allow you so many freedoms. I was your friend and I thought you were my friend too. I let you go to the nether, I gave you a picture of the Christmas tree, I help you back and let you cry into my shoulder when you wanted nothing more than to swim in lava.” Dream glanced over Tommy’s shoulder at that statement and silently reveled in the horrified faces as they all realised that Tommy had tried to kill himself more than once.  
Without missing a beat, he continued, “I was, and still am your only friend Tommy, and I wanted to be kind and give you as much freedom as I could while you were banished, but you couldn’t even do what I asked of you, then you ran off to Technoblade as soon as I found out about your plans. I can see now why nobody else is your friend, I can understand why Tubbo didn’t want you anymore after how many times you’ve betrayed me, but I still care despite how awful you are to me. I can see that all you need is a firmer hand, and more strictness, and maybe one day you can be a good friend, but right now, I have to punish you for betraying me, for going and bothering Techno, who was ready to get rid of you as soon as possible, for pulling L’Manburg into your stupid plans, and for being so defiant to everyone on this server.” During this spiel, Dream had moved his hand up to cup Tommy’s cheek, the boy still sobbing, though now he was silent save for the occasional gasp. Tommy was leaning into Dream’s comforting hand, his weapon having been dropped in his panic, and his hands down to his sides non-threateningly.

Dream smiled behind his mask, knowing that Tommy was almost ready to be transported to the impenetrable prison that had been very recently finished. He spared a glance to the group that had been standing in the hub and listening this whole time, reveling in the horrified and confused looks that the boy’s shaky and compliant state garnered. He huffed soundlessly as he l;ooked at their devastated faces, as they all came to realize exactly how fucked up this child in front of them is to be seeking comfort from the very man that put the sluggishly bleeding gash into his leg. The silence was starting to fill with the noise of Tommy’s sobs as he got louder now that Dream had stopped talking, but Dream had more to say.

“I love you a lot, Tommy, you really mean so much to me. You’re like the little brother I always wanted, but I need to protect you. I need to keep you safe from people who would hurt you, from people who only want to use you. I care about you so much and I can’t stand to see you hurt but you are my little brother, and you need to obey me, I’m only doing this for your own good, I promise. I would never hurt you if it wasn’t to protect you, Tommy, it would break my heart to hurt you. Will you be good and come with me to our new home willingly, or do I have to knock you out and carry you there?” Dream finished, slowly pulling away from the easily manipulated boy who had been leaned into him, sobbing into his shoulder as Dream spoke. Dream continued to hold the boy’s face, stroking small circles into his cheek as Tommy tried to gather himself to speak.

“I promise I’ll be good Dream, I’m so sorry for betraying you, I’m so sorry, I promise I never will again. I’ll behave, I’ll walk to our home, Dream.” Tommy choked out between the lingering sobs, his voice hoarse and cracking from crying so hard for so long. Behind Tommy, Dream could see tears glistening on the faces of all of the people who had been here to oppose him as they watched the most rambunctious, hard headed guy they knew be reduced to tears by whatever this cruel man had put him through in the months he was exiled. They cried because it was partially their faults he was so broken, all of them having allowed the exile to go through for what was, in retrospect, hardly a crime on this server.

With the confirmation from Tommy, Dream shuffled back and stood slowly, pulling Tommy up from where the two had been seated on the netherrack.

Tubbo, watching Dream grab his friend and pick him up to take him who knew where shouted, “Tommy, don’t believe him, he’s not your friend, I am, I love you Tommy, please, don’t go with him Tommy, he’s not going to stop hurting you, Tommy!”

Tommy flinched at the yelling, prompting Dream to pull the unsteady boy closer and into a hug. Tubbo sobbed harder seeing Tommy hesitantly wrap his arms around Dream, and tried to get up despite his bloodloss, though he quickly fell down again from dizziness.

“Please, Sam, Ponk, Punz, anyone, help him,” Tubbo cried out, “Don’t let him take Tommy please please please.”

Dream turned his head to face his mask toward Tubbo and mouthed “Shut up.” at him over Tommy’s shoulder. Niki put her hand over Tubbo’s mouth before he could infuriate Dream further, and the warriors quickly closed ranks around their more vulnerable group members at Dream’s silent snarl.

Dream pulled back from his embrace with Tommy and smoothed Tommy’s wild hair down with the hand that wasn’t on his sword. He smirked behind his mask as he felt the boy’s reluctance to let go, and his quick obedience when Dream persisted. He wiped the smirk off his face as Tommy stepped back slightly, his now unoccupied arms swinging back and being instinctively put into parade rest by the child soldier.

Dream, with his free hand still in the kid’s hair softly but clearly said, “C’mon Tommy, it’s a bit of a walk to our new home, and I’m certain you’re tired. If you can’t keep going, just let me know and I’ll carry you home, m’kay.”

The teen nodded lightly, not wanting the hand in his hair to be removed quite yet. Dream made his body language soften to put the boy at ease before deciding to try something new. He had heard Tommy’s mentor use a nickname that he hadn’t heard for the boy from anyone else on the server, and the few times Wilbur had used it in front of Dream, Tommy had softened into Wilbur, clearly seeing the nickname as comforting. Dream thought on that for a second before deciding to use this special nickname to beckon Tommy to start walking.

“C’mon Toms, we should get going.” Dream said as turned away from the blond, untangling his hand from the boy’s hair as he went.

With his back turned and his hand no longer touching Tommy, he was unable to sense the boy tense up tighter than a rubber band at the supposedly soft nickname. Dream took a step away from the bridge without turning to look, he was so confident in his victory. With the sound of Dreams first few steps away, Tommy crouched and near silently grabbed the fallen _Axe of Peace_ from the floor at his feet, and took two long strides to catch up to just slightly behind the hooded figure. He did so not a moment too soon, as he had just gotten into plage when Dream turned his head slightly to glance back at the frozen figures in the floating nether hub.

From his point of view though, Dream could not see the spot he and the seemingly obedient boy had just vacated, which was now missing an axe that shouldn’t have been picked up, and Dream also couldn’t see said axe held in the hand of the blank-faced boy just behind him, the axe just behind the small of Dream’s green covered back. 

The people on the hub gave nothing away either, all of them keeping their faces horror-struck and sorrowful despite the hope now blooming in their chests with a vengeance.

“Dream?” Tommy said, voice soft, yet still carrying across the unnaturally silent nether, “How far is our new home from here?”

Tommy put a lot of effort into keeping his voice soft and nonthreatening as he raised the axe from where he had been holding it at hip level.

Dream steadily replied, “A few hours, but it’ll be an extra hour so we can make sure we aren’t being followed by anyone who might hurt you.”

Tommy replied, “Oh, that’s far away.” as he finished bringing the axe above his head with every ounce of strength he had left in his drained body.

Dream and Tommy had barely made it 15 blocks from where they had been seated mere seconds before when Tommy took a step back, braced himself with his good leg, and dropped the axe blunt side down directly onto Dream’s unarmored head.

A dull, sickening crack was heard around the silent nether as Dream’s legs failed to support his now unconscious body, his upper body tumbling to the ground soon after his legs failed, his body sprawled across the netherrack almost comically.

The axe slipped from Tommy’s hand as he sank to the floor, his blood loss and exhaustion finally getting to him past the adrenaline that had been pumping through his veins since that cursed nickname had left his abuser’s mouth.

The silence of the nether turned into the dull thumps of several people running towards him, Sam appearing first in his vision, the creeper hybrid dropping down beside Dream’s body to examine him and make sure he wouldn’t die.

Next came Ponk, who scooped Tommy up like he weighed nothing, before rushing him across the precarious cobblestone bridge to the healers, who received him and quickly began cleaning his wounds. 

Punz was the last across the bridge, hopping out of Ponk’s way as Ponk took Tommy to the healers, then continuing to swiftly walk to Dream and cuffing the man with thick, iron chains behind the unconscious man’s back.

Sam finished making sure Dream wouldn’t die before being imprisoned by pouring a regen potion down the unconscious man’s throat and pouring an instant health potion over the split skin and bone on the top of his head to ensure the bone and skin healed over his brain before the regen pot takes care of ensuring he doesn’t lose his second life until his respawn point has been set in the prison’s main and most secure cell. After the last potion was applied to Dream, Sam scooped the chained and unconscious man into his arms and took him swiftly through the nether portal to lock him in the prison and set his spawn point before allowing him to succumb to his injuries, alone and locked away.

Punz returned to the hub, standing next to Ponk and Quackity as the warriors awkwardly watched Niki and Fundy attend to Tommy’s injuries. Tommy was considerably less injured than Tubbo, but Tubbo had been healed as soon as the duo arrived, whereas Tommy had been bleeding for nearly an hour, his wounds exposed to the ash floating around the nether.

Slowly but surely though, Niki and Fundy finished bandaging Tommy’s wounds, having had to stitch only the large gash on his leg. As they finished, Tommy fell asleep with his head rested snugly in Tubbo’s lap, the latter also asleep, leant against the nether portal that leads to the main SMP.

Niki stood slowly, stretching all her muscles out as fundy finished cleaning up the empty bottles and blood soaked gauze. She whispered quietly to Punz and Ponk, asking them to carry the sleeping duo through the portal, which they hastily, but gently did. The exhausted group came out the other side of the portal, the cool air of the overworld nearly freezing to them, as they had spent the past several hours in the heated hellscape of the nether, though the smooth cold air was very welcome to their scorched and hoarse throats.

Niki, Fundy, and Quackity took the lead, leading Ponk and Punz to Tommy’s current home. It wasn’t the best place to keep two kids recovering from an extremely traumatic experience, but it was the closest place Niki could think of that either of the two would be comfortable in. She didn’t want them waking up in a strange place after everything that just happened.

She gestured for Ponk to place Tommy down on the single bed in the home, before grabbing a bed from her inventory and placing it down to turn Tommy’s single bed big enough for both of the boys. Punz gently placed Tubbo down on the now expanded bed and backed up, awkward now that he had no orders to follow.

Tubbo made a sound in the back of his throat as Punz backed off, missing the warmth of another person against him. Fundy gently rolled him over into Tommy’s side of the bed, and Tubbo soon had unconsciously rolled into Tommy’s embrace, his own arms tight rough his best friend. Niki turned to the three men who were standing in the middle of the room without a clue what to do now. 

Niki spoke softly, “Thank you so much for helping, thank you, even though you two,” she gestured at Ponk and Punz, “don’t know the boys well. I don’t think we need you to guard this place, you should all go home and sleep.” 

With this, Ponk and Punz exited, leaving Niki and Quackity across from each other.

Quackity broke the silence, asking softly, “Are you sure you two don’t need help?”

Niki smiled, “I’m sure, Fundy and I will be enough to help them. Go to bed Quackity.”

Quackity laughed lightly, “Fat fucking chance I’m sleeping after that, I’m going to see if I can find a stash and get so high I won't remember my name, much less today.”

Niki giggled and pushed Quackity lightly toward the door, the duck hybrid leaving at that.

Fundy whispered to Niki, “I’ll take first watch over the boys, you should sleep.”

She nodded and laid down on the third bed that Fundy placed while she dismissed their helpers, falling asleep swiftly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed, I sure as hell did. Leave Kudos, comments, and any poggers ideas you have bc if that shit resonates with me, I'll write it. I might add a comfort chapter later, lots of Tommy and Tubbo cuddles, and a bunch of healthy communication, with extra fluff.


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